My bike's front brake cable housing was just a tiny bit too short

I spent three hours yesterday trying to get the front brake to feel right, only to realize the new housing I cut was maybe half an inch too short, which made the lever pull feel awful. I had to re-run the whole cable, cut a new piece, and start over from scratch. Has anyone else had a brake feel totally off because of something that small?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_perry906d ago

Man, that exact thing happened to a friend of mine last month. He was fighting with his rear brake for an entire afternoon, swearing the caliper was stuck. The housing was just a hair too short, putting a weird bend in the cable right at the lever. It made the pull feel spongy and weak. He only figured it out after checking everything else twice. Such a tiny mistake causes a huge headache.

patricianguyen6d ago

Seems like a bit of an overreaction to blame a tiny cable bend for a whole afternoon of trouble. Most spongy brakes come from air in the lines or worn pads, not housing length. Your friend might have just been having a bad day.

-1